MUKILTEO — The City Council was hammered Monday night by tenants who said raising rents at the Rosehill Community Center would force them out.
As a result, the council decided to raise their rates by only 20 percent, rather than the scheduled 50 percent or more.
The council appeared to be ready to adopt the budget at press time.
The council whittled away at its remaining $183,000 budget deficit for 2004 by cutting the Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival, reducing the vehicle replacement fee fund and eliminating a clerk at Rosehill, among other moves.
The council made most of its cuts last week in trying to make up for a $443,000 shortfall in the 2004 budget. City staff estimated the lowered rent increases would generate $8,000 in new money, rather than the planned $38,000.
Residents and business owners alike complained about the initial rent hike proposal.
Nancy Dahlberg, a resident who uses the community center, was one of about a dozen residents who said the bigger rent increase would be punitive because it would force tenants to leave. All of the businesses are small and make little profit.
"If we lose Rosehill, we lose part of our soul," Dahlberg said. "If you want to increase revenue from the Rosehill Community Center, raise the profile and not the rent."
If the rent increases were approved, Julie Glafke, who owns Jazzercise, said her business would have been forced out.
The city had proposed to raise her rent 50 percent.
"I thought you should know, that will force me out," she said.
Mayor Don Doran had said he did not want to shut down the businesses, that he’s just trying to balance the city budget in a very tough year.
Cuts the council agreed to last week — along with raising rents at Rosehill — added up to $263,000. They included not hiring two paramedics and cutting items such as large-item trash pickup, computer upgrades, training and the use of temporary labor.
At the earlier meeting, Rosehill residents said the city was trying to force them out by raising the rents. The City Council has voted in the past to knock down the old school building so it can build a new community center and city hall.
The city responded it needs more money to keep it open until the future of the building is decided.
Mukilteo Seniors, which operates a thrift store at Rosehill, found out Monday its rent would have gone from $463 to $1,082 a month.
Even though that’s still only 50 percent of market rate, Dorothy Cash, a spokeswoman for the thrift store, said there’s no way they could have continued to operate there at that price.
"A bomb fell on Mukilteo this morning," she said, referring to a letter outlining the proposed rate increase that was received Monday.
She and others said raising rents to 80 percent of market rate isn’t right because these are civic-minded businesses.
More than 50 people attended the meeting.
Reporter Lukas Velush: 425-339-3449 or lvelush@heraldnet.com.
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